A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - Science! That makes sense! Bryson has a gift for being able to make complex scientific ideas easy (well, easier) to understand. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wonders "why" and "how" - and anyone else for that matter. 560 pages (100 books, BA, BAM, Chunkster)

Frequently Asked Questions by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum - Librarian humor :)  Funny and oh-too-real.

The Good Women of China by Xinran - Xinran, a journalist/radio personality, writes about stories she learned about  (some reported on her radio show, some not) the lives of Chinese women during and after the Cultural Revolution. Sad to heartbreaking. (A to Z)

Legends by LIFE Magazine - photographs of legendary people and quotations about them by other famous people. Some nice pictures and quotes.  (888, BAM)

The Quotable Star Wars - quotations from the original trilogy. Cute. Has a few photographs. (A to Z, 888)

all books: 100 books

Weight Loss Surgery: Is It For You? by Goldberg, Marcus & Cowan - good, informative book. Nonjudgmental and thorough. (A to Z)

Weight Loss Surgery For Dummies by Kurian, Thompson & Davidson -  the usual "Dummies" stuff, fun yet informative.

Sex For One by Betty Dodson - very open, positive book about masturbation. Originally published in the late 70's/early 80's and has a definite "conciousness-raising" kind of vibe, but, then again, that's what it's trying to do. (A to Z, 888)

The Forbidden Body by Shelley Bovey - subtitle is "Why Being Fat Is Not a Sin". Bovey addresses lots of issues about why it does seem to be a sin, pointing out  many of the myths and assumptions about fat and the unrealistic body images that people have today.  Flawed, but passionate - informative and kind of depressing. (888)



The first two books and the last one seem very contradictory :)  Being a very overweight person, I'm contemplating having the lap-band surgery for health reasons, but I still think fat people are treated horrendously in our society and am always looking for information to use to counter all misconceptions.


All books: 100 books

The Joy of Writing Sex by Elizabeth Benedict - I got this years ago, back when I was still writing fanfiction. Mine tended to be a bit naughty :)  Benedict isn't interested in porn here, but using sex scenes to further plot and/or characterization. She includes quotes from authors she interviewed, plus excerpts from books. Mostly read this to get it off my TBR pile, but it was okay. (888, BAM)

Frontier by Louis L'Amour - Read this for the Every Month a Holiday challenge(see links) - L'Amour was born in March.  This book is a series of essays on the frontier - but not just what is typically considered the frontier. L'Amour looks at all of the US as a frontier - as it was when people first started exploring. I love his writing - and his love for the wild parts of the country are obvious. The accompanying photographs by David Muench are gorgeous. (emah)

both: 100 books (halfway! 52 books)

James Herriot's Dog Stories by James Herriot - Read this for the Every Month a Holiday challenge - in honor of the Westminster Dog Show. Lovely stories about dogs - funny, tender, sad. (A to Z)

Red As Blood by Tanith Lee - twisted fairytales - some of the famous tales with wicked twists - such as a perfectly good stepmother, whose stepdaughter *reeks* of evil.

Chicks In Chainmail - warrior women, chicks with swords. Funny, fluffy. (A to Z)

all books: 100 books, 888

Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way by Bruce Campbell - A B-movie actor gets a shot at A-list fame. Bruce gets cast in a Mike Nichols film starring Richard Gere and Renee Zellwegger and goes all out to fit in. And then things start getting weird - B-movie weird.  Funny, but a bit much (which might be the point!). Enjoyed his autobiography If Chins Could Kill much more - the conversational style works much better there. (challenges: 100 books, A to Z, and 888)

The Fat Girl's Guide To Life by Wendy Shanker - Tired of the dieting mentality, Shanker decides to go after life at her current size and takes on society's prejudices, media, and medical 'experts' to show that you don't have to be thin to have a life. Lots of humor, lots of excellent points. There are better books on the subject, but Shanker kicks some butt here :)
(challenges: 100 books, A to Z)

Remembering Raquel by Vivian Vande Velde -  How will you be remembered after you're gone? Velde's novella shows different points of view in each chapter as Raquel's classmates deal with the news of her death. Also seen are glimpses of her family, the witnesses to the accident, and the driver of the car that hit her. Short, but powerful - another hit by Velde.
(challenges: 100 books, A to Z)

Diana Tregarde Investigates by Mercedes Lackey - SFBC omnibus - includes Children of the Night, Burning Water, and Jinx High - 788 pages!  Before Buffy or Anita Blake, Diana Tregarde was a Guardian, protecting good from evil, doing battle with the occult. Somewhat dated, but still kick-ass. Diana takes on psi-vamps, Aztec spirits possessing human bodies, and a sorceress targeting a friend's teenage son and in danger of waking a slumbering goddess. Burning Night really reminded me of LKH's Obsidian Butterfly - just without the gore.
(challenges: 100 books, A to Z, 888, Chunkster)

Starting off as a much better reading month :)

comics:
I Would Lick It For Hours: Two Lumps, Year One by Mel Hynes & J. Grant - I <3 Two Lumps!

Cooking:
Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker: Recipes for Two by Beth Hensperger - some interesting recipes, some not (to me, at least)
Slow Cookers for Dummies by Tom Lacalamita & Glenna Vance - same as above.  Both are good.

Romance:  Doing It RIght by MaryJanice Davidson - smut is always fun

Fantasy: Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey - a Five Hundred Kingdoms fairy tale - I like this series.

Teen: Undercover by Beth Kephart - a female Cyrano de Bergerac with a teen slant - very good.

Nonfiction: The Big Book of Cross-Stitch Design by the Reader's Digest Association - lots of nice designs
Betty Crocker's Soups and Stews - I'm trying to get back into cooking good things :)
Southern Living Slow-cooker Cookbook - and into using the crockpot     -   I copied some recipes, now I just have to try them :)




a very slow reading month - only 11 books, but raises my total to 243 for the year.

So far this month:

2 teen novels: 
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Richard Yancey - good story with interesting take on King Arthur - and what happened later.

Uglies by Scott Westerfield - got to put the next one on hold :)

Mystery:
One-Way Ticket by WIlliam G. Tapply - love this series

Nonfiction:
Overcoming Overeating by Jane R. Hirschmann and Carol H. Munter - very good.


Still a few days left in the month, we'll see what else I get read :)

Last four books of October:
Now and Then by Robert B. Parker - I love Spenser! and Hawk and Susan :) - mystery

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch -  another good book about eating & body image - nonfiction

Sky Burial by Xinran -  beautiful story - my X book for the Alphabet Challenge - fiction

World War Z by Max Brooks - oral history of the zombie wars - interesting. I liked it. - horror-ish

So, 26 books for October and 232 so far for the year.

Sort of a 'miscellaneous' post :)


The Masked Marquis by Winifred Witton - eh.


Body Clutter: Love Your Body, Love Yourself by Marla Cilley & Leanne Ely - eh. Just didn't work for me - the style applied fine to the clutter issue, but not to body image.

As a large woman trying to deal with health and weight issues, I've been reading some books about these things:

Big Fat Lies: The Truth about Your Weight and Your Health by Glenn A. Gaesser, PH.D.

Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss--and the Myths and Realities of Dieting by Gina Kolata

When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies: Freeing Yourself from Food and Weight Obsession by Jane R. Hirschmann & Carol H. Munter

The first two are really about  the truth (and lies) of dieting - lots of good information and fairly depressing in that the lies continue to be put forth as truth. The third is about the authors' efforts in various studies to helping women overcoming eating disorders by a process called demand feeding. The intent is not weight loss, but body acceptance and figuring out what your body needs. Thought it was great. It is apparently a companion book to Overcoming Overeating    by the same authors, which my library did not have, so I ordered them both.


I've also been reading some financial advice books for when I get some money coming in again - I need to start some serious planning for the future. I read a Dave Ramsey last month and this month, I read:

Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Suze Orman

I really like this one. She does a good job of explaining terms and how things work. I plan on checking this one out again - there was some information I'd like to copy down - or I may end up ordering it.

Nonfiction:
Smitten: A Kitten's Guide to Happiness by Rachael Hale - lovely photography book of kittens with great cat quotes.

The Backroads of South Carolina by Paul Franklin & Nancy Mikula - sights and history off the main highways.

Writers On Writing by Jon Winokur
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
The Ultimate 30 Minute Cookbook by Jenni Fleetwood
Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley